Ben-DutkaIt's a perfectly legitimate question in light of the available sales numbers.
As most are well aware, Sony announced that the PlayStation 4 had sold over 2.1 million units worldwide, making it the biggest launch in the brand's history. Soon after, Microsoft revealed that the Xbox One had sold over 2 million units as well.
When the November NPD results arrived, it was apparent that while the PS4 had sold more during the month, the Xbox One technically sold faster. There are other factors to consider, including availability and the fact that the PS4 was out a week earlier, but the bottom line is that the numbers – for both the US and worldwide – are awfully close. It's exactly what I predicted heading into the launch; I never believed PS4 would outsell the Xbox One in the US but if it was close, that'd a a big-time coup for Sony.
We're coming off a period of seven or eight years where the Xbox 360 continually outsold the PS3 by a 2:1 and sometimes 3:1 ratio here in North America. To have the Xbox One only manage to sell as many units as the PS4…? Is it not fair to assume that at least some former Xbox followers switched sides for this generation? Granted, many avid gamers will eventually want to own both consoles, so maybe some just sided with the PS4 first. They'll grab the Xbox One later (maybe after a price drop). Even so, there are a great many gamers who say they're good with one system.
And if that one system is the PS4, and you were once a die-hard Xbox supporter, what happened? We could probably come up with a few ideas, right? I'm just wondering how many supporters Microsoft lost during the course of 2013… It appears to be significant.
Didn't Pachter say PS4 even outsold Xbone in the US? Not that we can trust him.
I'd be interested to hear from side switchers too, maybe all that bad press and the bad policies clued people in.
Ummm… Ben its a fair question but since we are at the beginning of a new gen or a new current gen you may want to ask that question in a years time or more when the gen is well established and has a firm base in homes. And when the games libraries are decent enough and bigger.
The beginning says nothing. Its the diehards and the fanboys who are at home with the new systems. I don't mean that in any disrespect. Well maybe to the fanboys. The next year or two will be the test for the consoles.
Really as gamers… we should focus on the games and upcoming games. Not worry about Sonys business and business sales, marketing and practices. It either is depressing or euphoric. So a bit of a roller coaster ride. I would rather reserve that for a games, good or bad.
Really, the numbers thing played on both sides and in the forums is just a game. An old one and a boring one.
Really, gamers should be saying… bring on the games and lets have some fun.
Keep playing!
I think the beginning can say something.
It can say something of initial reactions. Thats really really short term. Long term is where it matters and will rear its head, good or bad.
Like a race, does not really matter who is out in front first. The real strategy for success happens in the middle of the race and shows itself in the last quarter to the finish. Yep, not much of an analogy, but the beginning says little in gaming. The PS3 is a good example, to a point. Rough start. Many thought it was the end of Sony, but look where it ended.
Regardless, its games that sell the systems now. Not just its hardware and features. That sold the earlier buyers. The diehards and fanboys. NOW the real and average gamer will come on board around the games. The average gamer is the one that is the bread and butter of the companies. The casual gamer will fill in the gaps. BUT the games will decide all this. Not Netflix or Youtube or any other features. They are just bonuses.
Well, whatever view one has, Sony I think is off to a good start, now they just have to maintain, at best, a good momentum. They know this and I am sure in the next few years we will see some great games. Hopefully some new exclusives and not just existing franchises. We need both.
Keep playing!
Hello y'all. Long time Xbox fan, first time PSXe poster. So yah, I decided to dump all of my achievements and dump also my CoD friends and create new ones on PS4. But that's okay. While Xbox exclusives have always been better with Gears of War, Halo, and that realistic driving game (which I hate) I decided I'd be good with just CoD and save $100 while I'm at it. I also heard CoD on PS4 has 1080 graphics, or something like that, for more realism.
PS
I'm trying to get used to the PS4 controller and I like it pretty okay.
You bite your tongue about Xbox exclusives being better!
Otherwise, welcome to you, new convert. 🙂
if anyone wants to try out for my CoD clan, HARBING3R5, send me a message on PSN.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 12/14/2013 10:48:01 AM
lmao!
Sarcasm is strong in this one. 🙂
I switched sides… technically. Last gen I bought 360 first and bought a PS3 only 2 years ago. Traded the PS3 in towards the PS4 and I will probably pick up the Xbox One after a price drop or two, or when there is a bundle I can't pass up. Nothing about Xbox One is really appealing to me though, so I might have to go back to a PlayStation-Nintendo combo this gen. I am having some major Mario and Zelda withdrawl.
I have not bought many multi platform games last generation. This was due to the fact that Xbox held back the PS3 by throwing cash at the developers, given the fact that the PS3 versions look horrible in the earlier cycle. I am absolutely happy that the PS4 version was superior, yet Sony do not need to give the developers any perks to make the console shine. I believe THAT was the reason for early adopters & switch from Xbox.
What happened last generation hasn't had time to this generation. That's blossom. So many people caught on last gen later in the two consoles lives. That will happen again.
A lot of gamers want the most powerful console. Plus the PS4 is $100 cheaper. PS+ is also a huge factor here. I have read many, many blog posters say they switched to Sony for this gen. I think Sony is a lot farther ahead than Microsoft is leading on.
i wanted to see which of them[ps4/xboxone]would be the best in games/price/reliability:
Games:PS has the better exclusives like Uncharted,The last of us ,ratchet and clank
so that was easy[both systems had no launchgames that i want very badly]
Price:a 100,-! cheaper so that was easy
Policies:PS did not one of all the bad policies from the beginning what MS did, so again the choice was easy
Reliabiliy:they had both a few % failures,and
when i look at both company's reliability in history than clearly i choose again PS4
I will buy me a ps4 [next year i guess]
Last edited by slow and smart on 12/14/2013 2:49:17 AM
Every single one of my friends who were 360 users, those who have bought next-gen systems, all bought PS4s.
So they learned somethin', good on them.
well i wudn't surprise me i know M$ pissed off enough people to get them to switch sides after E3 so yeah i think that showed up in the sales for sure.
happy gaming =)
Hmm.. i don't know. The Xbox fan base has already proven that they will keep supporting MS no matter how much abuse they receive.
They put up with the most atrocious hardware failure rate the industry has ever seen. They were willing to pay for online play even though it was free everywhere else(well ,at least back then it was.)And even with MS's progressive shift away from core gaming with Kinect their fans have kept on backing them.
In some ways they remind me of those stories you always hear about abused women, who keep going back to the guys who beat them. I'm not sure people like that will ever see the light.
I wouldn't go too far with the whole Battered Wife thing; it's a bit more involved than that. Think of it in terms of Cognitive Dissonance. When you're faced with an uncomfortable truth you can either acknowledge the contradiction or just rewrite reality to avoid it. It's a very human impulse and it's not just limited to 360 owners or videogames for that matter.
Think about the thought process for a 360 owner around 2007: You've spent hundreds of dollars on a console and a Gold subscription, all of your friends are on XBox Live and you've spent hundreds more on games. Not only that but Microsoft has recently extended the warranty for Red Ring repairs to three years so it's easier to justify staying. At this point, the PS3 is still rather expensive, you don't know that many people on the service and you'd have to rebuild your entire game library. Maybe you just bought an expensive headset that isn't PS3 compatible or maybe you really like Halo .
I bought my 360 in mid-2008 after the hardware issues had been resolved so I never faced that particular problem but I did read forums and I was following the gaming press. I had an opportunity to form an opinion at a distance. The entire situation was absurd to the point of comedy. Mostly I just thanked God that I hadn't bought the thing at launch.
Do you want to know what sold me on the PS4? A lot of it came down to how badly the Xbox team handled themselves between April and the end of June. From Adam Orth to Don "We have a device for people who don't have some form of Internet connectivity-it's called Xbox 360" Mattrick, they just couldn't keep from stepping on their own cranks! It's like they shot themselves in the foot, kept pulling the trigger until the clip was empty and reloaded! Microsoft may have a lot of intelligent people on staff but it sure as hell was evident from how they were acting!
People may like Xbox Live as a service and they may be reluctant to leave their achievements and gamerscore behind (I'm a little wistful about that last part) but if you're a fan and not a fanboy then you have to be willing to consider a better alternative and quite a few have. I'm a gamer and I wasn't looking for something to help me manage my TV viewing. I already have something for that-it's called a smegging DVR! As far as that goes, neither Microsoft nor Dish Network have anything that could play Infamous: Second Son.
Last edited by Kryten1029a on 12/14/2013 5:15:50 PM
Playstation
1998
Metal Gear Solid
Spyro the Dragon
1999
Spyro the Dragon 2
2000
Spyro 3
2001
Ico
Onimusha
Final Fantasy X
Devil May Cry
Dark Cloud
Jak and Daxter
Metal Gear Solid 2
2002
Rachet and Clank
Sly Cooper
Onimusha 2
2003
Devil May Cry 2
Jak 2
Dark Cloud 2
Final Fantasy X-2
2004
Rachet 2
Sly 2
Onimusha 3
Metal Gear Solid 3
DragonballZ Budokai 3
2005
Shadow of the Colossus
Devil May Cry 3
Yakuza (Ryu Ga Gotoku)
God of War
2006
Onimusha 4
Final Fantasy XII
Yakuza 2 (Ryu Ga Gotoku 2)
2007
God of War 2
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
PC
1998
Half-Life
1999
Half-Life: Opposing Force
2001
Half-Life: Blue Shift
2001
Half-Life: Decay
2004
Half-Life 2
2006
Half-Life 2: Episode One
2007
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Xbox
Halo 1,2,3
Last edited by Kiryu on 12/14/2013 12:41:00 PM
If this is supposed to be a comprehensive list over exclusives there's so many titles missing on those other two platforms it's not even funny.
Last edited by Beamboom on 12/14/2013 1:02:55 PM
I am one of them. loyal since the original xbox. pre-ordered ps4 early and never looked back
and let's get something straight. the 360 was a great machine. the red eye of death did suck and I won't say it didn't. but MS was very good about fixing it (I know, not much of a consolation but it's worth noting)
There was a bigger online community, the online service was loads better than ps3 (as it should. we paid for it) and the controller was close to perfect. I honestly couldn't play games for years using that awful dualshock 1-3.
Sony really picked up it's game with ps4 and I will be the first person to admit that and LOVE my ps4. But the original xbox and the 360 were both beasts. and the red eye twice in 8 years was worth it….
Glad you're enjoying your PS4.
I sometimes feel that the hardcore Xbox supporters come off as trolls or people desperate to impress millionaires. UNSCleric made a video on Youtube where he calls himself the Xbox One's Vanna White and models a car with an Xbox One logo on it. Very sad that his zealotry keeps him from playing so much more on other platforms. He's more obsessed with getting a gig with Microsoft or being Major Nelson's best friend than anything else. Many people on that blog just suck up to Larry than actually say anything constructive.
Just saying that the ones who refuse to ever change sides go to extreme measures to show their brand loyalty to a company that thinks very little nowadays of catering to serious video gamers. Others claim they are waiting for Naughty Dog to release something on PS4.
We have a lot of people that had their first online gaming experience with the 360. I have been a gamer for decades, so I understand that each new generation could bring a change in superiority. With that being said, there are a lot of people (some of these people are my friends) that think that xbox was always the best, and will always be the best because of their limited experience with console generation changes. they bought the 360 because all their friends had it and many believed it brought the best online experience compared to playstation 3. so it's only natural that they have a hard time believing that ps4 is better than the xbox one.
The only thing that would make me buy an xbox one is if titanfall really is the game I think it could be. even with 720p I would buy it if it's a must have. I know it is crazy but I soooo wish it was on ps4
why dont we look at this in another view perspective how many COD fans are their?
How many COD fans that only play COD wanted a different system because their friends were getting next gen system to play COD?
how many sales of COD are there on the ps4/ xbox 1
until you can answer those questions then the sales will tell us nothing for the launch
this is the problem nowadays with trying to look at charts when theirs gamers involved there are alot of people who only buy a system and a game just to play with there friends because there friends wanted them to play it
and alot of the time thats the only game series the person only picks up ive seen it way to many times in NA ive seen people who say they despise videogames and never owned a console before pick up a game just to play with their 7 friends that own COD sad but true
I wonder how many xbox consoles sold were replacements for faulty units outside of their warranty
The system has been out for three weeks and it has a one year warranty so the safe bet is zero.
I think he meant 360's
I guess I would be considered an Xbox fan. When I do jump into the next gen fray, the PS4 will be my console of choice. Then again, I consider myself a PS fan as well or I wouldn't be at this site! 🙂